TCA: Louis C.K. On 'Louie', Emmy Noms, Stand-Up, And What He Likes To Watch

With seven Emmy nominations, Louis C.K. just broke the record for most noms for an individual in a single Emmy year — coming for both his acclaimed FX series Louie along with a stand-up special. He broke the record held previously by David Lynch for Twin Peaks. At an appearance at TCA this morning via satellite from Albany, NY he called the record “bittersweet” because he’s such a huge fan of Lynch. But at the same time, he said he felt that records are more of a sports thing and that “with creative and television and writing, it’s kind of silly a little bit. But it’s really nice to get FX a whole bunch of nominations. That’s what’s nice for me.” C.K. is known to have the greatest deal for a performer perhaps in television history, doing writing, performing, directing, and editing on Louie as well as having a hand in picking the music. He mentioned Chris Rock as someone else with the skill set to pull off doing what he does on his half-hour. The best part of having his deal is that not every one of the stories within the structure of his series has to be 22 minutes — or, if there are two, exactly 11 minutes. “That’s one of the things that excited me from the start,” C.K. said. “John Landgraf told me he didn’t care if I did 1, 2, 3, 4 stories or half a story. Of course, some of it is just crap, and in that sense it doesn’t matter how long it is.”

C.K. also discussed how he’s got a forthcoming comedy tour on tap, which he seems to do annually. Why? “Well, it remains the best thing that I do,” he said. “It’s what people depend on me to do better than anything else. And I make the most money from it. Stand-up takes the pressure off of doing other things and keeps my blood moving. It’s also where my best ideas come from, I think.” He surprised everyone when asked what he likes to watch on TV. “Well, boxing. But also Project Runway. Really. I love fashion done in a competitive spirit. I also like American Idol and America’s Got Talent and shows like that … When I’m watching TV, I just become an American TV viewer.”